Creating a voice response grammar from a user grammar

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and products are disclosed for creating a voice response grammar in a voice response server that include identifying a user for a presentation, the user having a user grammar, the user grammar including one or more user grammar elements and storing a multiplicity of user grammar elements for the user in a voice response grammar on a voice response server. In typical embodiments, identifying a user for a presentation includes creating a data structure representing a presentation and listing in the data structure at least one user identification. In typical embodiments, each grammar element includes an identifier of a structural element, a key phrase for invoking a presentation action, and a presentation action identifier representing a presentation action.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The field of the invention is data processing, or, more specifically,methods, systems, and products for creating a voice response grammarfrom a user grammar.

2. Description of Related Art

Multimedia presentations through conferencing systems are becoming morecommon, but they are inflexible because all conference participants mustbe presented with exactly the same content. For any particularpresentation, however, there is typically a wide variety of participantinterest, company, group, or department membership, technical knowledge,security authorization, and so on, across almost any dimension in whichparticipants may vary. Targeting content for such a heterogeneous set ofusers is typically a manual process today in which presenters createwholly separate presentations for each audience, and the content of eachsuch presentation is reduced to the lowest common denominator of anyparticular audience. There is a substantial need for improved multimediapresentation systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Methods, systems, and products are disclosed that operate generally tosupport improved multimedia presentations by creating a presentationdocument that includes a content-specific presentation grammar and astructured document. The structured document typically has structuralelements such as pages, paragraphs, cells, titles, and the like markedwith structural identifiers. A content-specific presentation grammarties presentation actions to the document structure through thesestructural element identifiers. A presentation actions directs thepresentation of a document such as by moving the presentation to thenext page of the document, the previous paragraph of the document and soon. A presentation grammar empowers a presenter to invoke thepresentation actions using speech.

In typical embodiments, users are assigned classifications describingany attributes of a user, company name, department name, age, gender,technical knowledge, educational level, subject matters of personalinterest, security authorization, and so on. Contents of structuralelements from structured documents are then filtered for presentation toindividual users in a multi-media, multi-user presentation according tothe individual attributes of the participants.

In a presentation regarding marketing of a deep space vehicle for a Marsmission, for example, graphic images and paragraphs of text may bedeveloped in many versions, inserted into the same presentation documentwith each version classified according to technical level, securitylevel, and so on, so that a member of the marketing department viewingthe same paragraph at the same time in the same presentation as a memberof the research department will in fact be shown a different version ofthe paragraph. A graphic diagram of a subsystem presented to themarketer will be a simpler version than the one shown at the same timeto the researcher.

More particularly, methods, systems, and products are disclosed forcreating a voice response grammar in a voice response server thatinclude identifying a user for a presentation, the user having a usergrammar, the user grammar including one or more user grammar elementsand storing a multiplicity of user grammar elements for the user in avoice response grammar on a voice response server. In typicalembodiments, identifying a user for a presentation includes creating adata structure representing a presentation and listing in the datastructure at least one user identification. In typical embodiments, eachgrammar element includes an identifier of a structural element, a keyphrase for invoking a presentation action, and a presentation actionidentifier representing a presentation action.

In some embodiments, the user grammar includes a multiplicity of usergrammar elements for a content type, and the embodiments includeidentifying presentation documents for the presentation, eachpresentation document having a content type; and selecting user grammarelements according to the content type of the identified presentationdocuments. In such embodiments, storing a multiplicity of user grammarelements for the user in a voice response grammar on a voice responseserver typically includes storing the selected user grammar elements inthe voice response grammar.

The other embodiments where the user grammar comprises a multiplicity ofuser grammar elements, the embodiments includes identifying presentationdocuments for the presentation, the presentation documents includingstructured documents having structural element identifiers and selectinguser grammar elements in dependence upon the structural elementidentifiers. In such embodiments, storing a multiplicity of user grammarelements for the user in a voice response grammar on a voice responseserver typically includes storing the selected user grammar elements inthe voice response grammar.

The other embodiments where the user grammar comprises a multiplicity ofuser grammar elements, the embodiments include identifying presentationdocuments for the presentation, each presentation document having apresentation grammar including presentation action identifiers andselecting user grammar elements in dependence upon the presentationaction identifiers. In such embodiments, storing a multiplicity of usergrammar elements for the user in a voice response grammar on a voiceresponse server typically includes storing the selected user grammarelements in the voice response grammar.

Typical embodiments also include creating a presentation documentincluding creating, in dependence upon an original document, astructured document comprising one or more structural elements;classifying a structural element of the structured document according toa presentation attribute; and creating a presentation grammar for thestructured document. In such embodiments, the presentation grammar forthe structured document typically includes grammar elements each ofwhich includes an identifier for at least one structural element of thestructured document. In typical embodiments, classifying a structuralelement includes identifying a presentation attribute for the structuralelement; identifying a classification identifier in dependence upon thepresentation attribute; and inserting the classification identifier inassociation with the structural element in the structured document. Intypical embodiments, creating a presentation grammar for the structureddocument includes identifying the content type of the original document;selecting, in dependence upon the content type, a full presentationgrammar from among a multiplicity of full presentation grammars; andfiltering the full presentation grammar into a presentation grammar forthe structured document in dependence upon the structural elements ofthe structured document.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of theinvention will be apparent from the following more particulardescriptions of exemplary embodiments of the invention as illustrated inthe accompanying drawings wherein like reference numbers generallyrepresent like parts of exemplary embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 sets forth a block diagram of an exemplary system architecture inwhich may be implemented various exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 sets forth class diagrams for exemplary object oriented classesuseful in implementing methods and systems for creating presentationdocuments according to various exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating a method for creatinga presentation document.

FIG. 4 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating an exemplary methodof creating a presentation grammar.

FIG. 5 sets forth an exemplary data structure in which a full grammarmay be implemented according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a data flow diagram illustrating a further method for creatinga presentation document.

FIG. 7 is a data flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method forclassifying a structural element.

FIG. 8 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating an exemplary methodfor classifying a structural element in a structured document.

FIG. 9 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating a further exemplarymethod for classifying a structural element in a structured document.

FIG. 10 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating another exemplarymethod for classifying a structural element in a structured document.

FIG. 11 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating a further exemplarymethod for classifying a structural element in a structured document.

FIG. 12 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating an exemplary methodfor creating a voice response grammar in a voice response server.

FIG. 13 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating an exemplary methodfor creating a voice response grammar in a voice response server.

FIG. 14 is a data flow diagram illustrating an alternative exemplarymethod for creating a voice response grammar in a voice response server.

FIG. 15 is a data flow diagram illustrating another alternativeexemplary method for creating a voice response grammar in a voiceresponse server.

FIG. 16 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating an exemplary methodfor creating a session document from a presentation document.

FIG. 17 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating an exemplary methodfor amending a session document during a presentation.

FIG. 18 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating an exemplary methodfor differential dynamic content delivery.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Introduction

The present invention is described to a large extent in thisspecification in terms of methods for creating a voice response grammarfrom a user grammar. Persons skilled in the art, however, will recognizethat any computer system that includes suitable programming means foroperating in accordance with the disclosed methods also falls wellwithin the scope of the present invention. Suitable programming meansinclude any means for directing a computer system to execute the stepsof the method of the invention, including for example, systems comprisedof processing units and arithmetic-logic circuits coupled to computermemory, which systems have the capability of storing in computer memory,which computer memory includes electronic circuits configured to storedata and program instructions, programmed steps of the method of theinvention for execution by a processing unit.

The invention also may be embodied in a computer program product, suchas a diskette or other recording medium, for use with any suitable dataprocessing system. Embodiments of a computer program product may beimplemented by use of any recording medium for machine-readableinformation, including magnetic media, optical media, or other suitablemedia. Persons skilled in the art will immediately recognize that anycomputer system having suitable programming means will be capable ofexecuting the steps of the method of the invention as embodied in aprogram product. Persons skilled in the art will recognize immediatelythat, although most of the exemplary embodiments described in thisspecification are oriented to software installed and executing oncomputer hardware, nevertheless, alternative embodiments implemented asfirmware or as hardware are well within the scope of the presentinvention.

Creating a Presentation Document

Methods, systems, and products are now described for creating apresentation document with reference to the accompanying drawings,beginning with FIG. 1. FIG. 1 sets forth a block diagram of an exemplarysystem architecture in which may be implemented various exemplaryembodiments of the present invention. The system of FIG. 1 include acontent server (106) having stored content (108) of original documentsfrom which presentation documents are created. Agent (110) includessoftware modules for creating presentation grammars for presentationdocuments according to content type (114) and for classifyingpresentation document content according to presentation attributes(116). Presentation attributes are generic selection criteria fordisplaying appropriate structural elements of original documents tousers. Examples of presentation attributes include users' company names,department names, security levels, technical levels, and so on. Userprofiles (126) include user classification information typically used tofilter presentation media according to presentation attributes.

Content server (106) includes storage for presentation documents (314)each of which is composed of a presentation grammar (120) and astructured document (122). A presentation grammar is a data structurethat includes a set of key phrases used to identify presentation actionidentifiers and optional parameters for use in formulating presentationcontrol instructions relevant to structural elements of a content type.In typical embodiments, presentation control instructions arerepresented by and formulated from presentation action identifiers(reference 518 on FIG. 5). Key phrases are spoken by users and presentedas speech input to voice response server (104) where they are parsed andused to select a presentation action identifier (518 on FIG. 5) from aVRS grammar (105). VRS grammar (105) is formed dynamically frompresentation grammars (120) in use in a presentation session (128). Insome embodiments, VRS grammar (105) is formed dynamically from usergrammars from user profiles (126). Presentation Session Control Language(“PSCL”) stream (132) represents a stream of presentation controlinstructions composed of presentation action identifiers (518 on FIG. 5)and optional presentation control parameters (520 on FIG. 5) from VRS(104) to presentation server (102) which is programmed to present (134)structured multimedia content (136) from structured documents (122) tousers (124) in accordance with such presentation control instructions(132).

FIG. 2 sets forth class diagrams for exemplary object oriented classesuseful in implementing methods and systems for creating presentationdocuments according to various exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention. FIG. 2 includes a presentation document class (314) thatincludes a reference to a presentation grammar (120), a reference to astructured document (122), and a network location (202) of an originaldocument from which the presentation document was created. In theexample of FIG. 2, the network location (202) of the original documentis expressed as a Uniform Resource Identifier or “URI.”

FIG. 2 includes a profile class (126) whose objects representpresentation users. The profile class (126) includes a user name (204),a password (206), and a reference to a user grammar (208). A usergrammar is a data structure that includes a set of key phrases that areused to select presentation action identifiers specific to a user foruse in formulating presentation control instructions. For a presentationcontrol instruction that instructs a presentation session to carry outthe presentation action ‘page down,’ for example, an individual user maychose to associate with that presentation control instruction the keyphrase “rock and roll” or “boogie on down” or any other key phrasefavored by a user as will occur to those of skill in the art. Althoughthese particular examples are somewhat fanciful, in fact, user grammarsserve a useful purpose by providing key phrases for presentation controlinstructions that distinguish normal speech. In a discussion of a wordprocessing document, for example, references to pages and paragraphs mayabound, and using a distinctive phrase to invoke presentation controlinstructions on pages and paragraphs reduces the risk of confusion onthe part of a voice response server and a presentation session.

The profile class (126) also includes a string array storing userclassifications (210). Examples of user classifications (210) includeany supported data codes describing users, including, for example“company=IBM,” “department=marketing,” “technical level=3,” “securitylevel=2,” and others as will occur to those of skill in the art.

FIG. 2 includes a presentation session class (128) whose objectsrepresent presentation sessions. A presentation session represents anaggregation of presentation documents for presentation usually at a setdate and time, for a defined set of users including a presenter incharge. The presentation session class (128) includes a presentationidentifier code (212), a presenter identification (214), a list ofparticipants (216). The presentation session class (128) also includes aschedule date and time (218) when a presentation is to be presented, aURI array identifying presentation documents (220) requested by apresenter for a presentation session, a URI array identifyingpresentation documents that have been filtered according to presentationattributes or user classifications (220). The presentation session class(128) also includes a member method named mergeGrammars( ) (224) that isprogrammed to read presentation grammars from presentation documents andstore them in a VRS grammar on a voice response server for use inparsing key phrases spoken by a presenter and other users intopresentation control instructions.

Agent (110) includes software modules for structuring a presentationdocument according to content type (114) and for classifyingpresentation document content according to presentation attributes(116).

FIG. 2 includes an exemplary agent class (110) whose objects are used incontent servers to create presentation documents. Agent class (110)includes an array of references to content type plug-ins (114) that areused to create presentation grammars for presentation documentsaccording to content type. FIG. 2 also shows a content type plug-inclass (114) with a member method named createPresentationGrammar( )(232) which in this example is programmed to create presentationgrammars for presentation documents according to content type. Agentclass (110) also includes an array of references to classificationplug-ins (116) that are used to classify presentation document contentaccording to presentation attributes (116). FIG. 2 also shows aclassification plug-in class (116) with a member method namedclassifyDocument( ) (234) which in this example is programmed toclassify presentation document content according to presentationattributes.

Agent class (110) also includes a member method namedcreateStructuedDocument( ) (232) which is programmed to convert anoriginal document into a structured document by inserting structuralelement identifiers. Examples of structural element identifiers include<page>, <paragraph>, <row>, <column>, <cell>, <slide>, <jpeg>, <title>,<heading>, <subheading>, and so on, as will occur to those of skill inthe art. These examples of structural elements identifiers are expressedas markup tags such as would be used, for example, in a markup languagesuch as HTML (“HyperText Markup Language”) or XML (“extensible MarkupLanguage”), although this is not a limitation of the invention. In fact,it is well within the scope of the present invention to implementstructural element identifiers with binary codes, Unicode identifiers,or by use of other structure identifiers as will occur to those of skillin the art.

FIG. 3 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating a method for creatinga presentation document (314) that includes creating (304), independence upon an original document (302), a structured document (306)comprising one or more structural elements (402). In the method of FIG.3, creating (304) a structured document (306) is carried out byinserting (320) in the structured document (306) structural elementidentifiers (322) for the structural elements (402). An alternativemethod of creating a structured document, also shown in FIG. 3, iscarried out by converting (326) existing structural element identifiers(324) from the original document (302) to structural element identifiers(322) for the structural elements (402) of the structured document(306). The method of FIG. 3 also includes creating (310) a presentationgrammar (312) for the structured document (306). In the example of FIG.3, the presentation grammar (312) for the structured document (306)includes grammar elements (316) each of which includes a structuralelement identifier (318) for at least one structural element (402) ofthe structured document (306).

FIG. 4 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating an exemplary methodof creating a presentation grammar (312) for a structured document (314)that includes identifying (404) the content type (410) of the originaldocument (302). Identifying the content type may be carried out, forexample, by identifying the content type in dependence upon a filenameextension (303) in the filename of an original document. Examples offilename extension identifying content type include ‘pdf’ for Adobe'sPortable Document Format, ‘xls’ for a Microsoft Excel™ spreadsheet,‘doc’ for a word processing document, ‘xml’ for an XML document, and soon, as will occur to those of skill in the art. Alternatively,identifying the content type may be carried out by identifying thecontent type in dependence upon document header elements in an originaldocument (302). The following is an example of an HTML headeridentifying an original document having content type HTML version 4.01:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN”“http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd”>

The method of FIG. 4 includes selecting (406), in dependence upon thecontent type (410), a full presentation grammar (308) from among amultiplicity of full presentation grammars (412). A full presentationgrammar may be implemented, for example, as shown in FIG. 5. Amultiplicity of full presentation grammars may be implemented in a datastructure similar to the one shown in FIG. 5 by adding a content typecolumn. FIG. 5 sets forth an exemplary data structure (308) in which afull grammar may be implemented according to embodiments of the presentinvention. The full grammar of FIG. 5 includes several grammar elements(502-514) for a content type. In this example, the content type is takenas a word processing document having structural elements that includepages, paragraphs, bullets, titles, subtitles, and so on, and the datastructure includes a column for an identifier (318) of a structuralelement, a column for a key phrase (516) for formulating a presentationcontrol instruction for invoking a presentation action, and a column fora presentation action identifier (518) representing a presentationaction. The exemplary data structure of FIG. 5 also includes a columnfor a data indication whether a presentation control instructionrequires a parameter. The exemplary grammar entries for presentationaction identifiers PgDn (502), PgUp (504), nextParagraph (508), andprevBullet (512) have parameter (520) values of ‘null,’ signifying thata voice response server parsing their key phrases into presentationcontrol instructions is not to parse a parameter for a presentationcontrol instruction. The exemplary grammar entries for presentationaction identifiers goToPage (506), nextHeading (510), and goToSubtitle(514), however, have parameter (520) values of ‘integer’ and ‘string,’signifying that a voice response server parsing their key phrases intopresentation control instructions is to seek to parse for each of themrespectively an integer parameter, a string parameter, and a stringparameter.

The method of FIG. 4 includes filtering (408) the full presentationgrammar (308) into a presentation grammar (312) for the structureddocument (306) in dependence upon the structural elements (402) of thestructured document (306). Filtering (408) the full presentation grammar(308) may be carried out by writing (414) from the full presentationgrammar (308) to the presentation grammar (312) for the structureddocument (306) each grammar element (316) having a structural elementidentifier (318) of a structural element (402) that occurs in thestructured document (306). Using the exemplary full grammar of FIG. 5,for example, to create a presentation grammar for a structured documenthaving structural elements including pages, paragraphs, headings, andsubtitles but no bullet points identified in it as structural elements,filtering (408) the full presentation grammar (308) by writing (414) tothe presentation grammar (312) grammar elements (502-510) plus grammarelement (514) but excluding grammar element (512).

Methods of creating presentation documents are further explained with anexemplary use case. Consider the following example of a structureddocument:

<document> <page id=“1”> <p id=“1”>a paragraph</p> <p id=“2”>anotherparagraph</p> <image id=“1”>a graphic image</image> </page> <pageid=“2”> <p id=“3”>a paragraph</p> <p id=“4”>another paragraph</p> <imageid=“2”>another graphic image</image> </page> </document>

And assume that this exemplary structured document is associated in apresentation document with the following presentation grammar:

TABLE 1 Presentation Grammar Presentation Structural Action Element KeyPhrase Identifier Identifier Parameter page down PgDn <page> null pageup PgUp <page> null go to page goToPage <page> integer next paragraphnextParagraph <p> null go to paragraph goToParagraph <p> integer nextimage nextImage <image> null go to image goToImage <image> integer

This example is discussed with reference to the exemplary systemarchitecture of FIG. 1. In this example, then, when a presentationsession (128) displays the first page of the structured document and auser (124) speaks the words “page down,” a voice response server (104),having this presentation grammar as part of its VRS grammar (105),parses the speech into a presentation control instruction having apresentation control identifier named “PgDn” and communicates thepresentation control instruction through a presentation interface (132)to the presentation session in presentation server (102) which thendisplays the next page, in this example, page 2 of the examplestructured document. Similarly, when the first page of the structureddocument is on display, a user's speaking the words “go to paragraph 4”results in the presentation session's changing the display to showparagraph 4 on the second page of the document. And, when the first pageis on display for the users participating in the presentation and a userspeaks the words “next image,” the presentation session changes thedisplay to show image 2 on the second page of the document.

Classifying Structure Elements in a Presentation Document

FIG. 6 is a data flow diagram illustrating a further method for creatinga presentation document (314). The method of FIG. 6 includes creating(304), in dependence upon an original document (302), a structureddocument (306) comprising one or more structural elements (402), asexplained in detail above. The method of FIG. 6 also includesclassifying (330) a structural element (402) of the structured document(306) according to a presentation attribute (352). FIG. 7 is a data flowdiagram illustrating an exemplary method for classifying a structuralelement that includes identifying (702) a presentation attribute (352)for the structural element (402); identifying (704) a classificationidentifier (708) in dependence upon the presentation attribute (352);and inserting (706) the classification identifier (708) in associationwith the structural element (402) in the structured document (306). Themethod of FIG. 6 also includes creating (310) a presentation grammar(312) for the structured document (306), wherein the presentationgrammar (312) for the structured document (306) includes grammarelements (316) each of which includes an identifier (318) for at leastone structural element (402) of the structured document (306).

FIG. 8 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating an exemplary methodfor classifying a structural element in a structured document in whichidentifying (702) a presentation attribute (352) for the structuralelement (402) includes selecting (710) a presentation attribute (352)from a list (712) of supported presentation attributes (352). Thepresentation attribute list (712) of FIG. 8 includes two columns, onecolumn for presentation attributes (352) and another column forassociated classification identifiers (708). In the method of FIG. 8,identifying (704) a classification identifier (708) is carried out byidentifying a classification identifier (708) associated with thepresentation attribute (352) on the list (712). In the method of FIG. 8,inserting (706) the classification identifier (708) includes manuallyediting (712) the structured document (306) to insert classificationidentifiers in appropriate locations to classify structural elements ina structured document. For example, a paragraph to be viewed only bymembers of the marketing department may be classified by tagging theparagraph with <mkt></mkt>.

FIG. 9 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating a further exemplarymethod for classifying a structural element in a structured document inwhich identifying (702) a presentation attribute (352) for thestructural element (402) includes selecting (710) a presentationattribute (352) from a list (712) of supported presentation attributes(352), the presentation attribute (352) having an associatedclassification identifier (708). In the method of FIG. 9, identifying(704) a classification identifier (708) includes inserting (716) theclassification identifier (708) in a data structure (717) in associationwith a structural element identifier (322) for the structural element(402). In the method of FIG. 9, inserting (706) the classificationidentifier (708) in the structured document (306) includes reading (714)the classification identifier (708) from the data structure (717) independence upon the structural element identifier (322).

FIG. 10 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating another exemplarymethod for classifying a structural element in a structured documentthat includes providing a list (712) of supported presentationattributes (352) including at least one keyword (802) and at least oneindication of structural insertion scope (804) for each presentationattribute (352). In the method of FIG. 10, identifying (702) apresentation attribute (352) for the structural element (402) includesselecting (710) a presentation attribute (352) from the list (712) independence upon a keyword (806) from the structured document (306). Inthe method of FIG. 10, identifying (704) a classification identifier(708) is carried out by identifying a classification identifier (708)associated with the presentation attribute (352) on the list (712). Inthe method of FIG. 10, inserting (706) the classification identifier(708) is carried out by inserting the classification identifier (708) inthe structured document (306) according to a structural insertion scope(804) for the selected presentation attribute (352).

FIG. 11 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating a further exemplarymethod for classifying a structural element in a structured documentthat includes providing a list (712) of supported presentationattributes (352) including at least one data pattern (810) and at leastone indication of structural insertion scope (804) for each presentationattribute (352). In the method of FIG. 11, identifying (702) apresentation attribute (352) for the structural element (402) includesselecting (814) a presentation attribute (352) from the list (712) independence upon a data pattern (812) from the structured document (306).In the method of FIG. 11, identifying (704) a classification identifier(708) is carried out by identifying a classification identifier (708)associated with the presentation attribute (352) on the list (712). Inthe method of FIG. 11, inserting (706) the classification identifier(708) is carried out by inserting the classification identifier (708) inthe structured document (306) according to a structural insertion scope(804) for the selected presentation attribute (352).

Methods of creating presentation documents are further explained with anexemplary use case. Consider the following example of a structureddocument:

<document> <page id=“1”> <p id=“1”> a paragraph on an introductorysubject </p> </page> <page id=“2”> <p id=“2”> a paragraph on aparticular subject </p> <tech level=“2”> <p id=“2”> a more technicalparagraph on the same subject </p> </tech> <security level=“2”> <pid=“2”> a more secret paragraph on the same subject </p> </security><dept id=“marketing”> <p id=“2”> a paragraph on the same subject withadded detail regarding marketing </p> </dept> <company id=“IBM”> <pid=“2”> a paragraph on the same subject with added detail pertinent to auser's company </p> </company> <p id=“3”> a paragraph on a furthersubject </p> ... ... ... </page> <page id=“3”> ... ... ... </page> ...... ... </document>

This example is discussed with reference to the exemplary systemarchitecture of FIG. 1, assuming that this exemplary structured documentis associated in a presentation document with a presentation grammarthat includes presentation action identifiers for paragraphs and pagesuploaded to a VRS grammar (105) in a voice response server (104). Inthis example, then, when a presentation session (128) is displaying thefirst page of the structured document and a user (124) speaks the words“next page,” a voice response server (104) parses the speech into apresentation control instruction with a presentation action identifiernamed “PgDn” and communicates the presentation control instructionthrough a presentation interface (132) to the presentation session whichthen displays the next page, in this example, page 2 of the examplestructured document. Assume that there are five users (124) registeredas participants with the presentation session (128), and note that thereare five different versions of paragraph 2 on page two of the structureddocument.

In this example, a first version of paragraph 2 bears a structuralidentifier <p></p> identifying it as a paragraph, but this first versionof paragraph 2 bears no classification identifier. In this example,presentation session (128) is programmed to display this unclassifiedversion of paragraph 2 to users having either the lowest technicalclassifications, the lowest security classifications, or no particulartechnical or security classifications at all. Moreover, in an example,where there were only one version of paragraph 2, all users would bepresented with that one version.

In this example, a second version of paragraph 2 is classified with aclassification identifier <tech level=“2”>. In this example,presentation session (128) is programmed to display this second versionof paragraph 2 to users having user classification indicating technicallevel 2. That is, when a user having technical level 2 in the user'sprofile classifications (210 on FIG. 2) is registered with thepresentation session, upon being directed to display paragraph 2, ratherthan displaying an unclassified version of paragraph 2, the presentationsession displays the second version of paragraph 2 classified <techlevel=“2”> to such a user.

Similarly, a user having a user profile classification representing aheightened security authorization, security level 2, is shown theversion of paragraph 2 classified by the classification identifier<security level=“2”>. A user having a user profile classificationidentifying the user as a member of the marketing department is shownthe version of paragraph 2 classified by the classification identifier<dept id=“marketing”>. A user having a user profile classificationidentifying the user as an employee of IBM is shown the version ofparagraph 2 classified by the classification identifier <companyid=“IBM”>.

For purposes of clarity of explanation, the structural elements in thisexample are shown with only one classification per element. Persons ofskill in the art will recognize, however, that it is well within thescope of the present invention for a structural element of a structureddocument to be classified with any number of classification identifiers.

Creating a Voice Response Grammar From a Presentation Grammar

FIG. 12 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating a method forcreating a voice response grammar in a voice response server includingidentifying (354) presentation documents (118) for a presentation. Inthe method of FIG. 4, each presentation document has a presentationgrammar (120), and the method includes storing (358) each presentationgrammar (120) in a voice response grammar (105) on a voice responseserver (104). Presentation grammars and voice response grammars may bestructured like the full grammars illustrated in FIG. 5 with grammarelements (502-514) for a content type (410). In the exemplary grammarstructure of FIG. 5, the content type is taken as a word processingdocument having structural elements that include pages, paragraphs,bullets, titles, subtitles, and so on, and the data structure includes acolumn for an identifier (318) of a structural element, a column for akey phrase (516) for formulating a presentation control instruction toinvoke a presentation action, and a column for a presentation actionidentifier (518) representing a presentation action.

In the method of FIG. 12, identifying (354) presentation documents (118)for a presentation includes creating (360) a data structure (128)representing a presentation and listing (362) at least one presentationdocument (118) in the data structure (128) representing a presentation.A data structure representing a presentation may be implemented as aninstance of a presentation session class as shown at reference (128) onFIG. 2. In the method of FIG. 12, listing (362) the at least onepresentation document (118) includes storing (366) a location (364) ofthe presentation document (118) in the data structure (128) representinga presentation. In the exemplary structure of FIG. 2, storing a locationof a presentation document may be implemented by storing presentationdocument locations in the form of URIs in an array of URIs (220). In themethod of FIG. 12, storing (358) each presentation grammar (120)includes retrieving (368) a presentation grammar (120) of thepresentation document (118) in dependence upon the location (364) of thepresentation document (118).

In one exemplary embodiment of the method of FIG. 12, the presentationdocument (118) is implemented as a file in a file system on a contentserver (106) and the file has a location (364) identified by a pathname.In such an embodiment, storing (366) a location (364) of thepresentation document (118) in the data structure (128) representing apresentation includes storing the pathname and a network location of thecontent server. An example of storing a pathname and a network locationis storing a URI for the document in a URI array such as thatillustrated at reference (220) on FIG. 2. Such a URI may have the form:http://www.someContentServer.com/presentationDocuments/myDoc.docwhere www.someContentServer.com is a domain name for a web server thatmaps to a network address such as an Internet Protocol address, forexample, of a computer where a web server is located. A ‘web server’ isa server that supports data communications according the HyperTextTransport Protocol (‘HTTP’). The portion of the URI after the domainname, “presentationDocuments/myDoc.doc,” is a pathname for a document onthe computer on which the web server is located. In such an embodiment,retrieving (368) a presentation grammar includes retrieving thepresentation document from the content server (106) in dependence uponthe pathname and extracting the grammar from the presentation document.In an example where the presentation document is located according to aURI as described above and the content server is implemented with a webserver, retrieving the presentation document from the content server maybe carried out by parsing the URI into an HTTP GET message:GET/presentationDocuments/myDoc.doc HTTP1.1and transmitting the GET message to the content server atwww.ibmContentServer.com.

In this example, the content server returns the presentation document asURI encoded data in an HTTP RESPONSE message. In an example where thereturned presentation document has this form:

<presentationDocument> <presentationGrammar> <grammarElement><contentType id=“WP”> <keyPhrase> page down </keyPhrase><presentationAction id=“PgDn”> <structuralElementIdentifier id=“page”></grammarElement > </presentationGrammar> <structuredDocument> <pageid=“1”> <p id=“1”> a paragraph </p> <p id=“2”> another paragraph </p></page> <page id=“2”> some text </page> </structuredDocument></presentationDocument>,extracting the grammar from the presentation document may be carried outby extracting the portion of the presentation document identified by thetags:<presentationGrammar></presentationGrammar>

In another exemplary embodiment of the method of FIG. 12, thepresentation document (118) is implemented as an instance of an objectoriented class on a content server (106). In this example, thepresentation document has a presentation document name, and thepresentation grammar comprises a member data element of the instance. Insuch an embodiment, storing (366) a location (364) of the presentationdocument (118) in the data structure (128) representing a presentationincludes storing the presentation document name and a network locationof the content server.

An example of storing a pathname and a network location is storing a URIfor the document in a URI array such as that illustrated at reference(220) on FIG. 2. Such a URI may have the form:

http://www.ibmContentServer.com/servlets/getPresentationGrammar?presDoc=myDoc.docwhere www.someContentServer.com is a domain name for a web server. Theportion of the URI after the domain name but before the question mark,“servlets/getPresentationGrammar,” is a pathname for server-sidefunctionality for retrieving a presentation document. The server-sidefunctionality could be a CGI (Common Gateway Interface (‘CGI’) script orother server-side functionality as will occur to those of skill in theart, but in this example the server-side functionality is taken as aJava servlet identified by its name, “getPresentationGrammar.” Theremainder of the URI is query data encoded as a name-value pairidentifying the name of a presentation document, “myDoc.doc,” from whicha presentation grammar is to be extracted by the servlet.

In such an exemplary embodiment, retrieving (368) a presentation grammaris carried out by requesting the presentation grammar (120) from thecontent server (106), including communicating the presentation documentname as a request parameter; and receiving the presentation grammar(120) in response from the content server (106). In an example where thepresentation document is located according to a URI as described aboveand the content server is implemented with a web server, requesting thepresentation grammar (120) from the content server (106), includingcommunicating the presentation document name as a request parameter, maybe carried out by parsing the URI into an HTTP GET message:GET/servlets/getPresentationGrammar?presDoc=myDoc.doc HTTP/1.1and transmitting the GET message to the content server atwww.ibmContentServer.com.

In another exemplary embodiment of the method of FIG. 12, thepresentation document (118) includes a record in a table in a databaseon a content server (106). In this example, the presentation documenthas a presentation document identifier, and the presentation grammarcomprises a field in the record. In such an embodiment, storing (366) alocation (364) of the presentation document (118) in the data structure(128) representing a presentation includes storing the presentationdocument identifier and a network location of the content server. In adatabase table in which each record represents a presentation document,for example, the presentation document identifier may be implemented asa single field unique key such as a serial number for a record, as apresentation document name, or as any functional identifier as willoccur to those of skill in the art. In the continuing discussion of thisexample, the presentation document identifier is taken as a presentationdocument name.

An example of storing a presentation document identifier and a networklocation is storing a URI for the document in a URI array such as thatillustrated at reference (220) on FIG. 2. Such a URI may have the form:

http://www.ibmContentServer.com/cgi-bin/getPresentationGrammar?presDoc=myDoc.docwhere www.someContentServer.com is a domain name for a web server. Theportion of the URI after the domain name but before the question mark,“/cgi-bin/getPresentationGrammar,” is a pathname for server-sidefunctionality for retrieving a presentation document. The server-sidefunctionality could be a Java servlet or other server-side functionalityas will occur to those of skill in the art, but in this example theserver-side functionality is taken as a CGI script named“getPresentationGrammar.” The remainder of the URI is query data encodedas a name-value pair identifying the name of a presentation document,“myDoc.doc,” from which a presentation grammar is to be extracted by theCGI script.

In such an exemplary embodiment, retrieving (368) a presentation grammaris carried out by requesting the presentation grammar (120) from thecontent server (106), including communicating the presentation documentname as a request parameter; and receiving the presentation grammar(120) in response from the content server (106). In an example where thepresentation document is located according to a URI as described aboveand the content server is implemented with a web server, requesting thepresentation grammar (120) from the content server (106), includingcommunicating the presentation document name as a request parameter, maybe carried out by parsing the URI into an HTTP GET message:GET/cgi-bin/getPresentationGrammar?presDoc=myDoc.doc HTTP/1.1and transmitting the GET message to the content server atwww.ibmContentServer.com.

Creating a Voice Response Grammar From a User Grammar

FIG. 13 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating a method forcreating a voice response grammar in a voice response server includingidentifying (372) a user (374) for a presentation where the user has auser grammar (208) and the user grammar includes one or more usergrammar elements (378). The method of FIG. 13 also includes storing(376) a multiplicity of user grammar elements (378) for the user in avoice response grammar (105) on a voice response server (104). A usergrammar is a data structure that includes a set of key phrases specificto a user that are used to formulate presentation control instructionsfor invoking presentation actions on presentation servers. For apresentation control instruction that invokes a presentation actioninstructing a presentation session to ‘page down,’ for example, anindividual user may chose to associate with that presentation controlinstruction the key phrase “rock and roll” or “boogie on down” or anyother key phrase favored by a user as will occur to those of skill inthe art. Although these particular example are somewhat fanciful, infact, user grammars serve a useful purpose by providing key phrases forpresentation actions that distinguish normal speech. User grammars andvoice response grammars may be structured like the full grammarsillustrated in FIG. 5 with grammar elements (502-514) for a content type(410).

In the method of FIG. 13, identifying (372) a user for a presentationincludes creating (360) a data structure (128) representing apresentation and listing (380) in the data structure (128, 374) at leastone user identification (204). A data structure representing apresentation may be implemented as an instance of a presentation sessionclass as shown at reference (128) on FIG. 2. In the method of FIG. 13,listing (380) in the data structure (128, 374) at least one useridentification (204) includes creating a list of user names of the usersthat are registered with the presentation session. That is, a list ofusers currently participating in the presentation.

In the example of FIG. 13, the user grammar (208) includes amultiplicity of user grammar elements (378) for a content type (370). Inthis example, each grammar element includes an identifier of astructural element, a key phrase for invoking a presentation action, andan action identifier representing the presentation action, as shown forexample in the depiction of an exemplary full grammar at references(318), (518), and (516) on FIG. 5.

The method of FIG. 13 includes identifying (382) presentation documents(118) for the presentation. In this example, each presentation document(118) having a content type (370), and selecting (384) user grammarelements (386) according to the content type (370) of the identifiedpresentation documents (356). In the example of FIG. 13, selecting (384)user grammar elements (386) according to the content type (370) of theidentified presentation documents (356) includes comparing the elementsof the user grammar with each presentation document in the presentationsession and extracting each element of the grammar having the samecontent type as a presentation document in the presentation session. Inthe method of FIG. 13, storing (376) a multiplicity of user grammarelements for the user in a voice response grammar on a voice responseserver is carried out by storing the selected user grammar elements(386) in the voice response grammar (105).

FIG. 14 is a data flow diagram illustrating an alternative exemplarymethod for creating a voice response grammar in a voice response server.The method of FIG. 14 includes identifying (388) presentation documents(118) for the presentation. The presentation documents (118) in thisexample include structured documents (122) having structural elementidentifiers (322). In the example of FIG. 14, the identifiedpresentation documents are included in a presentation document list(356) in the presentation session.

The user grammar (208) in this example includes a multiplicity of usergrammar elements (378), and the method includes selecting (390) usergrammar elements (378) in dependence upon the structural elementidentifiers (322). In this example, selecting (390) user grammarelements (378) in dependence upon the structural element identifiers(322) is carried out by comparing the elements of the user grammar witheach structured document of each presentation document in thepresentation session and extracting each user grammar element having astructural element identifier for a structural element that occurs in astructured document of a presentation document in the presentationsession. In the method of FIG. 14, storing (376) a multiplicity of usergrammar elements for the user in a voice response grammar on a voiceresponse server includes storing the selected user grammar elements(386) in the voice response grammar (105).

FIG. 15 is a data flow diagram illustrating another alternativeexemplary method for creating a voice response grammar in a voiceresponse server. The method of FIG. 15 includes identifying (394)presentation documents (118) for the presentation. Each presentationdocument (118) has a presentation grammar (120) including presentationaction identifiers (518).

In the example of FIG. 15, the user grammar (208) includes amultiplicity of user grammar elements (378), and the method includesselecting (396) user grammar elements (378) in dependence upon thepresentation action identifiers (518). In this example, selecting (396)user grammar elements (378) in dependence upon the presentation actionidentifiers (518) is carried out by comparing the elements of the usergrammar with each presentation grammar of each presentation document ofthe presentation session and extracting from the user grammar eachelement having a presentation action identifier that occurs in apresentation grammar of the presentation document. In the method of FIG.15, storing (376) a multiplicity of user grammar elements for the userin a voice response grammar on a voice response server includes storingthe selected user grammar elements (386) in the voice response grammar(105).

Creating a Session Document from a Presentation Document

FIG. 16 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating an exemplary methodfor creating a session document (266) from a presentation document(314). A session document is a repository for filtered content,presentation content that is filtered according to attributes of anaudience for a presentation, an audience that presents a range ofaffiliations, technical abilities, security authorizations, and otherattributes as will occur to those of skill in the art. The purpose of asession document is to provide a repository for reducing the volume ofdata for a presentation with respect to unfiltered presentationdocuments. A session document is a document derived from a presentationdocument targeted for the participants of a presentation. Moreparticularly, a session document is a data structure that includes asession grammar derived from a presentation grammar in a presentationdocument and a session structured document derived from a structureddocument in a presentation document.

The method of FIG. 16 includes identifying (250) a presentation document(314) for a presentation. The presentation document (314) includes apresentation grammar (312) and a structured document (306) havingstructural elements (402) classified with classification identifiers(708). Identifying (250) a presentation document (314) typicallyincludes inserting in a list (220) a location for the presentationdocument (314). The location of a presentation document may berepresented by a URI, and a list of locations identifying presentationdocuments may be implemented as an array of URIs as exemplified by therequested content list (220) in the exemplary presentation session class(128) on FIG. 2.

The method of FIG. 16 includes identifying (252) a user participant(204) for the presentation. In the method of FIG. 16, the user has auser profile (126) that includes user classifications (210) each ofwhich describes some attribute of a user, such as, for example, companyaffiliation, department membership, technical ability, securityauthorization level, and so on, for any attribute of a user as may occurto those of skill in the art. Identifying (252) a user (204) typicallyincludes inserting in a list (374) a user identification (204)identifying a user in a presentation participant list (374). In theexample of FIG. 16, a user identification is implemented as a user name(204) in a user profile (126).

The method of FIG. 16 includes filtering (254) the structured document(306) in dependence upon the user classifications (210) and theclassification identifiers (708). In the method of FIG. 16, filtering(254) the structured document (306) is carried out by extracting (259),from the structured document (306), structural elements (402) havingclassification identifiers (708) corresponding to the userclassifications (210), and writing (260) the extracted structuralelements (402) into a session structured document (256) in the sessiondocument (266). The method of FIG. 16 also includes filtering (262) thepresentation grammar (312), in dependence upon the extracted structuralelements (402), into a session grammar (258) in the session document(266). The method of FIG. 16 includes storing (264) the location of thesession document (266) in a session document list (222).

For further explanation, consider an example of creating a sessiondocument that begins with a presentation document having the followingcontents:

<presentationDocument> <presentationGrammar> <grammarElement><contentType id=“WP”> <keyPhrase>page down</keyPhrase><presentationAction id=“PgDn”> <structuralElementIdentifier id=“page”></grammarElement > <grammarElement> <contentType id=“WP”><keyPhrase>next bullet</keyPhrase> <presentationAction id=“NextBullet”><structuralElementIdentifier id=“bullet”> </grammarElement ></presentationGrammar> <structuredDocument> <page id=“1”> <p id=“1”>aparagraph on some subject</p> </page> <page id=“2”> <p id=“2”>aparagraph on a particular subject</p> <tech level=“2”> <p id=“2”>a moretechnical paragraph, same subject</p> </tech> <security level=“2”> <pid=“2”>a more secret paragraph, same subject</p> </security> <deptid=“marketing”> <p id=“2”>a paragraph, same subject, with added detailregarding marketing <bullet id =“1”>some bullet text</bullet> <bullet id=“1”>some other bullet text</bullet> <bullet id =“1”>still more bullettext</bullet> </p> </dept> <company id=“IBM”> <p id=“2”>a paragraph,same subject with added detail pertinent to a user's company</p></company> <p id=“3”>a paragraph on some other subject</p> ... ... ...</page> </structuredDocument> </presentationDocument>

In this example, an audience of users identified for a presentationinclude users having in their user profiles user classificationsindicating technical level ‘2’ and membership in IBM. None of theregistered users have security authorizations and none of them are fromthe marketing department. Filtering this exemplary presentationdocument, extracting structural elements with classification identifierscorresponding to the user classifications, writing those structuralelements to a session document, and filtering the presentation grammarin dependence upon the extracted structural elements, results in thefollowing exemplary session document:

<sessionDocument> <sessionGrammar> <grammarElement> <contentTypeid=“WP”> <keyPhrase>page down</keyPhrase> <presentationAction id=“PgDn”><structuralElementIdentifier id=“page”> </grammarElement ></sessionGrammar> <sessionStructuredDocument> <page id=“1”> <p id=“1”> aparagraph </p> <p id=“2”> another paragraph </p> </page> <page id=“2”><p id=“2”>a paragraph on a particular subject</p> <tech level=“2”> <pid=“2”>a more technical paragraph, same subject</p> </tech> <companyid=“IBM”> <p id=“2”>a paragraph, same subject with added detailpertinent to a user's company</p> </company> <p id=“3”>a paragraph onsome other subject</p> ... ... ... </page> </sessionStructuredDocument></sessionDocument>

In the resulting session document, the structural element identified aspage 2 now excludes versions for security level 2 and for marketing,because none of the users listed for the presentation are in themarketing department or have security authorizations of level 2. Inaddition, the session grammar excludes a grammar element for bulletsbecause, in the session document above, the only structural elementhaving bullets was the version of paragraph 2 for the marketingdepartment. Excluding the bullets as structural elements in the sessionstructured document means that there is no need to have grammar elementsfor them in the session grammar. Reducing the number of grammar elementsin the session grammar reduces the number of grammar elements in thevoice response grammar, thereby increasing the efficiency and accuracyof the voice response server and the overall presentation system.

Amending a Session Document During a Presentation

FIG. 17 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating an exemplary methodfor amending a session document (266) during a presentation. The sessiondocument (266) includes a session structured document (256), and themethod of FIG. 17 includes providing (268) user profiles (126)representing users capable of participating in presentations. In typicalembodiments, user profiles for all the users capable of participating inpresentations are stored in a database accessible to the presentationsession. In the example of FIG. 17, each user profile (126) includesuser classifications (210) for a user.

The method of FIG. 17 also includes providing (270) a presentationdocument (314) that includes a structured document (306) havingstructural elements (402) classified with classification identifiers(708). In the example of FIG. 17, the locations of the presentationdocuments from which the session documents for a particular presentationwere created are stored in a list such as the requested content list(220) of FIG. 17.

The method of FIG. 17 includes identifying (274) a user profile event(272) for a user during the presentation. A user profile event is anevent that results in adding a user classification to the set of userclassifications for a presentation. The set of user classifications fora presentation is the set of all user classifications for all users thathave been identified as users for a presentation. A user profile eventmay be represented as a data structure (272) that includes a useridentification (205) for a particular user.

A user profile event (272) may be generated by adding a user to thepresentation, where the added user has a new user classification for thepresentation. That is, one example of a user profile event (272) isadding to a presentation a user whose user classifications include atleast one user classification having no corresponding classificationidentifier in any structural element in the session structured document.

In such an example, at least one of the added user's userclassifications is currently not part of any user profile of any of theother users identified for the presentation.

A user profile event (272) also may be generated, for a further example,by changing a user classification (210) in a user profile (126) of auser who is participating in the presentation, where the changed userclassification includes a new user classification for the presentation.That is, one example of a user profile event (272) is editing a user'sprofile during a presentation so that the user's user profile nowincludes a user classification having no corresponding classificationidentifier in any structural element in the session structured document.In such an example, the new user classification is currently not part ofany user profile of any of the other users identified for thepresentation.

The method of FIG. 17 includes adding (276) to the session structureddocument (256) at least one structural element (402) from thepresentation document (314), the added structural element (402) having aclassification identifier (708) that corresponds to a userclassification (210) of the user. In the examples just mentioned,regarding adding a new user to a presentation or a new userclassification to a profile, adding (276) to the session structureddocument (256) a structural element (402) from the presentation document(314), the added structural element (402) having a classificationidentifier (708) that corresponds to a user classification (210) of theuser, means that the new structural element is one that no other useridentified for the presentation was entitled to view. Because adding astructural element may mean adding a structural element of a kind nototherwise represented in the session structured document, the method ofFIG. 17 advantageously also includes adding (278) a grammar element(316) to the session grammar (258) in dependence upon the addedstructural element (402).

For further explanation, consider the following example of amending asession document (266) during a presentation. In this example, a sessiondocument is used for a presentation having users whose user profilesinclude user classifications of technical level ‘2’ and membership inIBM:

<sessionDocument> <sessionGrammar> <grammarElement> <contentTypeid=“WP”> <keyPhrase>page down</keyPhrase> <presentationAction id=“PgDn”><structuralElementIdentifier id=“page”> </grammarElement ></sessionGrammar> <sessionStructuredDocument> <page id=“1”> <p id=“1”> aparagraph </p> <p id=“2”> another paragraph </p> </page> <page id=“2”><p id=“2”>a paragraph on a particular subject</p> <tech level=“2”> <pid=“2”>a more technical paragraph, same subject</p> </tech> <companyid=“IBM”> <p id=“2”>a paragraph, same subject with added detailpertinent to a user's company</p> </company> <p id=“3”>a paragraph onsome other subject</p> ... ... ... </page> </sessionStructuredDocument></sessionDocument>

This session document in this example was created from the followingpresentation document:

<presentationDocument> <presentationGrammar> <grammarElement><contentType id=“WP”> <keyPhrase>page down</keyPhrase><presentationAction id=“PgDn”> <structuralElementIdentifier id=“page”></grammarElement > <grammarElement> <contentType id=“WP”><keyPhrase>next bullet</keyPhrase> <presentationAction id=“NextBullet”><structuralElementIdentifier id=“bullet”> </grammarElement ></presentationGrammar> <structuredDocument> <page id=“1”> <p id=“1”>aparagraph on some subject</p> </page> <page id=“2”> <p id=“2”>aparagraph on a particular subject</p> <tech level=“2”> <p id=“2”>a moretechnical paragraph, same subject</p> </tech> <security level=“2”> <pid=“2”>a more secret paragraph, same subject</p> </security> <deptid=“marketing”> <p id=“2”>a paragraph, same subject, with added detailregarding marketing <bullet id =“1”>some bullet text</bullet> <bullet id=“1”>some other bullet text</bullet> <bullet id =“1”>still more bullettext</bullet> </p> </dept> <company id=“IBM”> <p id=“2”>a paragraph,same subject with added detail pertinent to a user's company</p></company> <p id=“3”>a paragraph on some other subject</p> ... ... ...</page> </structuredDocument> </presentationDocument>

The session document in this example contains no structural elementsclassified for users from the marketing department. After beginning thepresentation a user from the marketing department joins thepresentation. The user's joining the presentation is represented byadding the user's user identification to a list of users identified forthe presentation. Adding the user ID to the list identifies (274) a userprofile event (272) which is represented by a data structure thatincludes the user's user identification (205). Amending the sessiondocument proceeds by adding (276) to a session structured document (256)one or more structural elements (402) from a structured document in thepresentation document from which the session structured document wascreated. Adding (276) to the session structured document (256) at leastone structural element (402) from the presentation document (314) iscarried out by adding a structural element (402) having a classificationidentifier (708) that corresponds to a user classification (210) of theuser. User classifications of the user are read from the user profiles(126) using the user identification (205) provided to the adding process(276) by the user profile event (272). In this example, adding astructural element to the session structured documents is carried out byadding the following paragraph from the structured document of thepresentation document set forth above:

<dept id=“marketing”> <p id=“2”>a paragraph, same subject, with addeddetail regarding marketing <bullet id =“1”>some bullet text</bullet><bullet id =“1”>some other bullet text</bullet> <bullet id =“1”>stillmore bullet text</bullet> </p> </dept>,thereby creating the following amended session document:

<sessionDocument> <sessionGrammar> <grammarElement> <contentTypeid=“WP”> <keyPhrase>page down</keyPhrase> <presentationAction id=“PgDn”><structuralElementIdentifier id=“page”> </grammarElement ></sessionGrammar> <sessionStructuredDocument> <page id=“1”> <p id=“1”> aparagraph </p> <p id=“2”> another paragraph </p> </page> <page id=“2”><p id=“2”>a paragraph on a particular subject</p> <tech level=“2”> <pid=“2”>a more technical paragraph, same subject</p> </tech> <companyid=“IBM”> <p id=“2”>a paragraph, same subject with added detailpertinent to a user's company</p> </company> <dept id=“marketing”> <pid=“2”>a paragraph, same subject, with added detail regarding marketing<bullet id =“1”>some bullet text</bullet> <bullet id =“1”>some otherbullet text</bullet> <bullet id =“1”>still more bullet text</bullet></p> </dept> <p id=“3”>a paragraph on some other subject</p> ... ... ...</page> </sessionStructuredDocument> </sessionDocument>

Amending the session document also includes adding to the sessiongrammar of the session document a new grammar element from thepresentation grammar. There were no bullets in the session structureddocument before the exemplary user profile event and therefore nogrammar elements supporting presentation control instructions forbullets. Adding the marketing paragraph also added bullets, so themethod advantageously includes adding grammar elements supportingpresentation control instructions for bullets:

<grammarElement> <contentType id=“WP”> <keyPhrase>nextbullet</keyPhrase> <presentationAction id=“NextBullet”><structuralElementIdentifier id=“bullet”> </grammarElement >,thereby creating the following amended session document:

<sessionDocument> <sessionGrammar> <grammarElement> <contentTypeid=“WP”> <keyPhrase>page down</keyPhrase> <presentationAction id=“PgDn”><structuralElementIdentifier id=“page”> </grammarElement ><grammarElement> <contentType id=“WP”> <keyPhrase>nextbullet</keyPhrase> <presentationAction id=“NextBullet”><structuralElementIdentifier id=“bullet”> </grammarElement ></sessionGrammar> <sessionStructuredDocument> <page id=“1”> <p id=“1”> aparagraph </p> <p id=“2”> another paragraph </p> </page> <page id=“2”><p id=“2”>a paragraph on a particular subject</p> <tech level=“2”> <pid=“2”>a more technical paragraph, same subject</p> </tech> <companyid=“IBM”> <p id=“2”>a paragraph, same subject with added detailpertinent to a user's company</p> </company> <dept id=“marketing”> <pid=“2”>a paragraph, same subject, with added detail regarding marketing<bullet id =“1”>some bullet text</bullet> <bullet id =“1”>some otherbullet text</bullet> <bullet id =“1”>still more bullet text</bullet></p> </dept> <p id=“3”>a paragraph on some other subject</p> ... ... ...</page> </sessionStructuredDocument> </sessionDocument>

Differential Dynamic Content Delivery

FIG. 18 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating an exemplary methodfor differential dynamic content delivery. Differential dynamic contentdelivery is delivery of the content of a presentation to userparticipants according to a wide variety of participant interest,company, group, or department membership, technical knowledge, securityauthorization, and so on, across almost any dimension in whichparticipants may vary. Differential dynamic content delivery isaccomplished generally in methods and systems according to embodimentsof the present invention by use of structured, classified documents,presentation documents and session documents, each of which includes agrammar and a structured document as described below. Using suchdocuments as a source of presentation content, differential dynamiccontent delivery is accomplished then by selecting from a structureddocument classified structural elements for delivery to particular userparticipants according to the classification identifiers in the documentand user classifications from user profiles.

FIG. 18 sets forth a data flow diagram illustrating an exemplary methodfor differential dynamic content delivery that includes providing (450)a session document (266) for a presentation. In the method of FIG. 18,the session document (266) includes a session grammar (258) and asession structured document (256), and providing (450) a sessiondocument (266) for a presentation is carried out by creating a sessiondocument from a presentation document as described in detail above inthe discussion regarding FIG. 16.

The method of FIG. 18 also includes creating (462) a presentationcontrol instruction (460). A presentation control instruction is aninstruction to a presentation server (102) to carry out a particularpresentation action such as, for example, ‘display next page,’ ‘displaynext slide,’ ‘display paragraph 5,’ and so on. More particularly, indifferential dynamic content delivery, presentation actions are carriedout by presenting to a particular user a version of a particularstructural element, such as a paragraph or a slide, according to userclassifications such as company name, department name, securityauthorization, and so on. In the method of FIG. 18, an exemplarypresentation control instruction (460) includes a presentation actionidentifier (518) and one or more optional parameters (520).

In the method of FIG. 18, creating the presentation control instructionis carried out by receiving (464) from a user (124) participating in thepresentation a key phrase (516) and optional parameters (520) forinvoking a presentation action and parsing (466) the key phrase (516)and parameters (520) against a voice response grammar (105) into apresentation control instruction (460). In this example, receiving (464)a key phrase (516) is carried out by use of a Voice Over InternetProtocol (“VOIP”) link (130) that carries the speech of at least oneuser (124) from the user's client device to a voice response server(104). A VoIP link is a kind of computer hardware and software that usesan internet protocol network instead of a traditional telephone networkas the transmission medium for speech. VoIP is sometimes referred to as‘IP telephony’ or ‘Voice Over the Internet’ (“VOI”). Examples of userclient devices include any computer equipment capable of convertinginput speech to digital data and transmitting it over the internetprotocol to a voice response server, including handheld wirelessdevices, personal digital assistants, personal computers, laptopcomputers, and the like.

The method of FIG. 18 also includes receiving (458) a presentationcontrol instruction (460) in a presentation server and selecting (452)from a session structured document (256) a classified structural element(402) in dependence upon user classifications (210) of a userparticipant (124) in the presentation. In the method of FIG. 18,selecting (452) a classified structural element (402) is carried out byselecting a classified structural element (402) in dependence upon thepresentation action identifier (518) and the parameters (520) from thepresentation control instruction (460). In the method of FIG. 18,selecting (452) a classified structural element (402) also includesselecting a classified structural element having an associatedclassification identifier (708) that corresponds to the userclassification (210).

For further explanation, consider an example using the followingexemplary session document:

<sessionDocument> <sessionGrammar> <grammarElement> <contentTypeid=“WP”> <keyPhrase>page down</keyPhrase> <presentationAction id=“PgDn”><structuralElementIdentifier id=“page”> </grammarElement ></sessionGrammar> <sessionStructuredDocument> <page id=“1”> <p id=“1”> aparagraph </p> <p id=“2”> another paragraph </p> </page> <page id=“2”><p id=“2”>a paragraph on a particular subject</p> <tech level=“2”> <pid=“2”>a more technical paragraph, same subject</p> </tech> <companyid=“IBM”> <p id=“2”>a paragraph, same subject with added detailpertinent to a user's company</p> </company> <p id=“3”>a paragraph onsome other subject</p> ... ... ... </page> </sessionStructuredDocument></sessionDocument>

In this example, assume that a first user participant has in a userprofile user classifications indicating that the user is an IBM employeeand a second user has user classifications indicating that the user hastechnical ability level ‘2’. In this example, a presentation serverhaving the above session document installed upon it receives (458) apresentation control instruction (460) to move to the display to thesecond page of the session structured document. The presentation serverthen selects (452) from the session structured document (256) for thefirst user the structural element identified as a version of page twoand classified as:

<company id=“IBM”> <p id=“2”>a paragraph, same subject with added detailpertinent to a user's company</p> </company>and for the second user the structural element identified as a versionof page two and classified as:

<tech level=“2”> <p id=“2”>a more technical paragraph, same subject</p></tech>

The method of FIG. 18 also includes presenting (454) the selectedstructural element (456) to the user (124). In the method of FIG. 18,presenting (454) the selected structural element (456) to the user maybe carried out, for example, by selecting a data communications protocolfor the presentation, inserting the selected structural element (withoutits classification identifiers) in a data structure appropriate to thedata communications protocol, and transmitting the data structure to theuser according to the data communications protocol. If, for example, thedata communications protocol is selected as HTTP, a data structureappropriate to the data communications protocol is an HTML document inan HTTP RESPONSE message. In such an example, presenting (454) theselected structural element (456) to the user may be carried out, forthe two exemplary versions of page two selected above, by the followingHTTP RESPONSE messages:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK Date:              Content-Type: text/xmlContent-Length: 128 <html><body><p id=“2”>a paragraph, same subject withadded detail pertinent to a user's company</p> </body></html>and for the second user the structural element identified as a versionof page two and classified as:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK Date:              Content-Type: text/xmlContent-Length: 103 <html><body><p id=“2”>a more technical paragraph,same subject</p></body></html>respectively, the first sent to the client device of the first user andthe second sent to the client device of the second user. Note that inboth transmission, the classification identifiers are omitted, <companyid=“IBM”> and <tech level=“2”> respectively.

This example of presenting (454) a selected structural element (456) toa user (124) is expressed in terms of HTML and HTTP, a stateless,asynchronous protocol. Many embodiments will statefully hold open a datacommunications connection, such as a TCP/IP connection, between apresentation server and a user client device. A Stateful Java EnterpriseSession Bean™ may be used, for example, to hold open a TCP/IP connectionimplemented with a Java socket object. Readers of skill in the art willrecognize therefore that HTML and HTTP are used for explanation, not forlimitation. In fact, any presentation application using any appropriatedata communications protocol useful for multi-media presentations may beused to present structural elements to users according to embodiments ofthe present invention. Such application may be obtained off-the-shelfcommercially or they may be specially developed for particularpresentations or kinds of presentation. An example of such anapplication available commercially is Microsoft NetMeeting™. Examples ofother data communications protocols useful with various embodiments ofthe present invention include the Session Initiation Protocol specifiedin the IETF's RFC 2543, the Real Time Streaming Protocol as specified inthe IETF's RFC 2326, the Real Time Transport Protocol of RFC 1889, andthe World Wide Web Consortium's VoiceXML protocol specified in the 2003document entitled “Voice Extensible Markup Language (VoiceXML) Version2.0”.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that modificationsand changes may be made in various embodiments of the present inventionwithout departing from its true spirit. The descriptions in thisspecification are for purposes of illustration only and are not to beconstrued in a limiting sense. The scope of the present invention islimited only by the language of the following claims.

1. A method for creating a voice response grammar in a voice responseserver, the method comprising: i. identifying a user for a presentation,the user having a user grammar, the user grammar including one or moreuser grammar elements for a content type, each user grammar elementincluding an identifier of a structural element, a key phrase forinvoking a presentation action, and a presentation action identifierrepresenting a presentation action; ii. identifying presentationdocuments for the presentation, each presentation document having acontent type, wherein the content type indicates a format of thepresentation document; iii. selecting user grammar elements according tothe content type of the identified presentation documents; and iv.storing a multiplicity of user grammar elements for the user in a voiceresponse grammar on a voice response server, including storing theselected user grammar elements in the voice response grammar.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 wherein identifying a user for a presentationcomprises: creating a data structure representing a presentation; andlisting in the data structure at least one user identification.
 3. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the user grammar comprises a multiplicity ofuser grammar elements, the method further comprising: identifyingpresentation documents for the presentation, the presentation documentsincluding structured documents having structural element identifiers;and selecting user grammar elements in dependence upon the structuralelement identifiers; wherein storing a multiplicity of user grammarelements for the user in a voice response grammar on a voice responseserver includes storing the selected user grammar elements in the voiceresponse grammar.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the user grammarcomprises a multiplicity of user grammar elements, the method furthercomprising: identifying presentation documents for the presentation,each presentation document having a presentation grammar includingpresentation action identifiers; and selecting user grammar elements independence upon the presentation action identifiers; wherein storing amultiplicity of user grammar elements for the user in a voice responsegrammar on a voice response server includes storing the selected usergrammar elements in the voice response grammar.
 5. The method of claim 1further comprising creating a presentation document, including:creating, in dependence upon an original document, a structured documentcomprising one or more structural elements; classifying a structuralelement of the structured document according to a presentationattribute; and creating a presentation grammar for the structureddocument, wherein the presentation grammar for the structured documentincludes grammar elements each of which includes an identifier for atleast one structural element of the structured document.
 6. The methodof claim 5 wherein classifying a structural element comprises:identifying a presentation attribute for the structural element;identifying a classification identifier in dependence upon thepresentation attribute; and inserting the classification identifier inassociation with the structural element in the structured document. 7.The method of claim 5 wherein creating a presentation grammar for thestructured document comprises: identifying the content type of theoriginal document; selecting, in dependence upon the content type, afull presentation grammar from among a multiplicity of full presentationgrammars; and filtering the full presentation grammar into apresentation grammar for the structured document in dependence upon thestructural elements of the structured document.